Tuesday, 1st July, 2025
Hon Patricia Appiagyei
Asokwa
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I rise today to draw Parliament’s and the nation’s attention to our Black Queens, Ghana’s senior women’s national football team, who are currently in Morocco preparing for the upcoming Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s African Cup of Nations. Ghana’s Black Queens embodies not only sporting talents, but are also national ambassadors who display resilience, ambition, and gender equity.
Mr Speaker, whereas the Black Stars, Ghana’s senior men’s team, have traditionally enjoyed abundant physical and financial support, the same cannot be said of our Black Queens. The Black Queens have consistently delivered outstanding performances, often surpassing expectations, and have achieved remarkable milestones with meagre resources in their international engagements.
Mr Speaker, it is important to emphasise that the Black Queens were the first senior national team to qualify Ghana for a FIFA World Cup when they earned their place at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the United States. This historic achievement preceded Ghana’s Black Stars World Cup qualification in 2006. In the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, the Black Queens have been runners-up three times: 1998, 2002, and 2006. They have qualified for the tournament 12 times since its inception in 1998.
Over the past year, the Black Queens built significant momentum, scoring 34 goals and conceding only two, recording 10 wins in 11 matches, and establishing themselves as a formidable force in African women’s football. The team has recently demonstrated renewed focus and determination through preparatory friendly matches, securing a 3-1 victory over Malawi and a 4-2 win over Benin. These are not minor milestones; they are compelling evidence that when given the opportunity, our women excel beyond measure.
Today, Mr Speaker, we are privileged to live in an era where, for the first time in Ghana’s history, the Vice President of the Republic is a woman. This is not just a symbolic milestone; it is an emphatic signal that women empowerment is no longer an aspirational rhetoric but a national commitment. In July 2024, the Eighth Parliament passed the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), affirming our collective resolve to institutionalise gender equity across all spheres of public and private endeavour.
The passage of this legislation means the empowerment of Ghanaian women must move from verbal commitments to visible action, and it must be demonstrated in every sector, including sports. Our Black Queens deserve the same level of national support, visibility and investment that have traditionally been accorded to their male counterparts. This is not merely a matter of fairness but a strategic imperative to inspire young girls across our country and strengthen Ghana’s global reputation.
Mr Speaker, it will interest the House to know that the United States Women’s National Team is the most successful because of the strategic attention and investments made towards the team over the years by the country.
Accordingly, Mr Speaker, I wish to respectfully call on the Minister for Sports and Recreation to prioritise all necessary logistical, technical, financial and motivational support to ensure that Black Queens represent Ghana with dignity and confidence. We also call on corporate organisations, development partners and well-meaning Ghanaians to increase investments and financial support for the Black Queens. Also, we call on the media to raise awareness and whip up enthusiasm for the Black Queens campaign. Our commitments and citizens should rally behind the team and demonstrate visibly, support across all platforms to encourage them to rise to the occasion.
Mr Speaker, true empowerment is measured by the depth of our investments in women’s potential and the seriousness with which we match our commitments with action. This is our moment to show that when we say our time is now, it is a time that includes our women. Let us rally behind the Black Queens and ensure they return not only as competitors but as champions who had the full backing of a grateful nation, Ghana, for that matter.
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.
Hon Maxwell Kwame Lukutor
South Tongu
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to comment on the Statement ably made by the Deputy Minority Leader.
I must say that it is necessary we pay close attention to our women, especially in football. Of course, it is said that what men do, women do better, but I dare to say it is not significant when it comes to football. I particularly pay attention to the women team, especially when they are playing, not necessarily because they are doing better than the men on the field of play, but because it makes it more interesting to watch the women play. Sometimes I wonder whether they are women or men and it makes it very interesting —No, I meant their approach to the game is not seen in a very feminine manner but very combative. Yes, that was what I said.
I want to say that the hue and cry we hear usually after the tournaments of unpaid allowances is so loud and sometimes, one hears that they are lodged in hostels and the threat is that, until they are paid their bonuses, they will not leave the hostels. I believe that, like she said, we should give them more attention like we do to the men. The call for corporate organisations to come to our aid and support our women is very apt because we see most of them drifting towards the Black Stars and the maledominated teams. So, I believe that corporate Ghana should also come to the aid of the women and make sure they support them.
On this note, I want to, Mr Speaker, congratulate the team that is doing so well and it is our prayer that when they get to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, they do better than they did in the last tournament. Let me pay glowing tributes to a few of them: Doris Boaduwaa, Stella Nyamekye, Princess Marfo, Princella Adubea, Evelyn Badu, Grace Asantewaa, Comfort Yeboah, Kerrie McCarthy, Afi Amenyeku, Azumah Bugre and especially, Blessing Shine Agbomadzi, who comes from my community in Kpotave in the South Tongu Constituency. Let me say that she is doing so well and we pray that she continues to lift the banner and the name of South Tongu higher.
With these few words, Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity and I thank the Deputy Minority Leader for a good job done.
Hon Daniel Nana Addo-Kenneth
Okere
Thank you, Mr Speaker and I want to commend my Deputy Leader for this clarion call.
Mr Speaker, if you look at modern records, by far, the Black Queens are doing better than the Black Stars because they have been able to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. This clarion call by Hon Appiagyei is something that we must take seriously because we pay so much attention to the Black Stars to the neglect of their female counterparts. Meanwhile, statistics that she read indicate that these young ladies are doing very well.
Generally, we all ought to pay particular attention to women in sports, so, using the Black Queens, they need the support. We do not see the usual euphoria that would have come if it were the male counterparts who were participating in this tournament. I think that the media also need to step up their game in promoting the Black Queens and all of us should get involved because these young ladies are doing very well and it is important that we do not just let these young ladies down. We should also build successive teams and pay attention to these academies and these colts’ teams, which are nurturing these young women in their various communities.
I believe that when we pay special attention to our women in sports, we would be able to advance the course of sports and football in this country and not only the male counterparts. Let us all get involved, as even parliamentarians, community leaders and then the National Sports Authority. I trust my good Friend, who is now the Director-General, Mr Ampofo Ankrah, and his team to be able to upgrade their game in terms of the promotion of the Black Queens, so that they can do better and bring gold home.
With these few words, I conclude, Mr Speaker.
Hon Emelia Arthur
Shama
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. While commending the maker of the Statement and aligning myself with the virtuous attributes that have been assigned to her by previous speakers, I would like to emphasise the fact that it is important that we support women in all endeavours.
Even the name of the female football team, Black Queens, suggests that we see something in them and therefore, the nation must support such endeavours. It is not just about kicking a ball on a field of play; It is about courage. It is about ability and capacity. And therefore, it is important that we recognise all that. May I put on record as well that the women on this Side, to the extent that one speaks in support of womanhood, we appreciate the comments of the Minority Leader.
But we also want to state that we do not need anybody to speak for us. We are strong women; we are women of valour. We went through the electoral process just like any man in this Chamber and we can stand up for ourselves and speak for ourselves. The other thing is that I sit in Cabinet, and when I look around, I see more than two women in Cabinet. I also want us to put on record that there are a lot of women who have been appointed.
And of course, there is room for more, so, when the point is made, it is appreciated. But it is not to be put in a state as if nothing has been done or just little has been done. Of course, as women advocates and women activists, we want more. We want to see more of us in the spaces that matter. When we talk about gender, it is not about woman or man. It is about the relationships between men and women, and especially around discourses and decisions that share resources between these genders. So, when we talk about that, it is important that we look at what is being allocated to deal with women’s issues versus what is being allocated to deal with men’s issues.
I stand, Mr Speaker, to support the maker of the Statement and looking at it broadly, it should not only focus on women in sports, but it should focus on women along the different strata— Women are not a homogeneous group; We are different groups of women. So, we should look at support for women across the different strata so that together we move this economy and this country, because it is doable.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon Agnes Naa Momo Lartey
Krowor
Mr Speaker, thank you very much and let me also take the opportunity to thank the Hon Deputy Minority Leader for the Statement made in support of the Black Queens.
Today, as we sit, before I go into the details of it, I just want to thank the Minority Leader for his concern for women empowerment. However, I just want to also add that the issues around women empowerment—
In fact, if we have equity or equality, we would not even be seated here to pass laws and policies being approved for us to get more women into leadership positions, but because we do not have, that is why we are all making the effort to get more women into leadership positions. What I will say is that today, as we speak, His Excellency has promised and pledged and there is every indication that he is working towards that pledge. For the first time, in fact, it has taken us over 60 years after independence for us to have the first female Vice President and for us to say, “Her Excellency” is one of the achievements of this country.
We hope that as time goes on, we will have more and more women in leadership positions. We applaud you for supporting us. However, the issue of gender equality is not just about ticking the box. We want the women where it matters most. We do not want to just add to the numbers and say that they want 20 women. I am saying we do not just—We are getting 20 women because we have to get 20 women. But we also want to get the women in the critical areas that matter the most. So, in addition to fighting for women to get into leadership positions, we are also looking at the critical areas that we are placing women; I think that is the fight.
There is nothing too strange about that. It is not just about ticking the box, but it is about ensuring that we are putting our money where our heart is. And that is the critical thing I want us to do. We have also said that football unites the nation, so it will be good that beyond the Statements we make, as part of the efforts, we will see ourselves, not just the Women’s Caucus, but the whole of Parliament and Mr Speaker, your good office, to join us to go and motivate our women footballers. It will be a good thing for them to see us all together, knowing that we are cheering them. And this is the only time that we do not want to also say that because it is the women, only the women should play. We are saying that gender issues are national issues.
So, Mr Speaker, if my Hon Minority Leader thinks that we should come together, which is the concern for us all, I think that he should also provide leadership and say that today, let the Minority and the Majority Sides come together and move to where the women are and motivate them. I am sure corporate organisations will also come together and follow us. We want women on every bench. Every bench of leadership, we want women there. And we want women most at the critical areas of this nation as well.
His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has shown the way and I believe that all of us will follow suit. In concluding, I am just trying to say that let us start from the known to the unknown. Let us do the little things with coming into force of the Affirmative Action Act, to put in every little effort to ensure that we increase the numbers and even more so at where it matters most.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Hon Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah
Salaga South
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, before I say anything regarding the Statement, I just want this House to note that the men who stood up to speak for women just succeeded in disrupting the activities of the Chamber. I am sure if they had allowed you space, by now three or four women would have spoken to the very important Statement made by the Deputy Minority Leader.
Mr Speaker, I will urge you, in the future, please, allow us to fight our own fight. The men are just here doing politics and filibustering. We want to speak to the issues.
Mr Speaker, on the issue of the Statement, thank you for the opportunity to comment and let me commend my Senior, my mentor, and one of the most accomplished women politicians of this country. The Deputy Minority Leader has written her name in the history of this country, so for her to stand today to make this Statement on behalf of the Black Queens is a testimony of her continued strive to put women issues on the forefront of the agenda of this country and I commend her highly for the Statement. Those of us at the back keep looking up to her. We watch her closely, we listen to her, we pay attention to everything that she does and we try to emulate her.
Mr Speaker, the issue she has raised is a very important issue and although she has raised it within the context of support and effective sponsorship for the women football team, I also think that she has done so because she knows that the Black Queens team has promise and prospects and if we paid attention to them, they might probably be the black team of Ghana that will deliver us a gold at the continental or world level. I want to assure the maker of the Statement that we have imbibed—Especially the data that she said, she just honed it home and it is something that we all need to think about and look at how to address it.
I will suggest that maybe in the future or if it is not too late—because I think I saw that the tournament is starting on 5th July, if I am right—maybe, the Women Caucus could have paid the team a visit in their camp to reassure them, to relate and engage them, so that they know that we are keeping an eye on what they are doing. When we wait till they get to the front of the tournament and we speak on their behalf, it might not yield the same results as a local engagement here would have.
Mr Speaker, the second thing I want to say, is the issue of sponsorship to ensure that the team is well-resourced and wellprepared and still the Women Caucus in this Parliament can lead such an effort. The Women Caucus can become patrons of the female soccer team in this country and lead the effort with corporate Ghana to raise funds to support this team. We know the situation where when it gets to the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, it is either budgets have not been released or there is not enough money. Let us take the course; let us walk the talk. Let us go out there to corporate Ghana and tell them that we need these women to perform and excel at the world level and I am sure we will have financiers to enable the Black Queens to give off their best at the tournament.
Mr Speaker, last but not the least, last year, the Rt Hon Speaker organised a football tournament for the Parliamentary Week Celebration. I think I was supposed to be the goalkeeper, but by the time I got there, someone had worn my jersey. So, I became the number nine and I nearly scored a goal.
Mr Speaker, so, I am speaking to my aunty, Ms Patricia Appiagyei, that some of us would want to go to Morocco to cheer the team up. Let us put it together. Let us work on that and get the women out there to go and cheer the Black Queens in Morocco.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Hon Gloria Owusu
Trobu
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I rise to support the Statement by Hon Patricia Appiagyei.
Mr Speaker, the Black Queens are doing so well and we must support them in the way that we can as a country. Mr Speaker, when you come to my Constituency, Trobu, we have a lot of women doing well. —
Mr Speaker, when you come to Trobu Constituency, we have a lot of women doing well in sports and I will urge the Minister for Sports and Recreation and the Ghana Football Association to support women in sports because they get little support.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Adelaide Ntim
Nsuta/Kwaman Beposo
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity.
Mr Speaker, I would like to comment on the Statement by the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon Patricia Appiagyei. Mr Speaker, we need to motivate the Black Queens so that they can do more. The Government needs to support them financially and encourage them. The Ghanaian women especially also need to motivate them and remember them in prayers so that they will have more ego to work for Mother Ghana.
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for this great opportunity.
Hon Abena Osei-Asare
Atiwa East
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the maker of the Statement for bringing to the fore the role of women in sports. I would also like to encourage the Black Queens and let them know that the sky is not even their limit, there is more they can do. I would also tell Government to consistently resource them to enable them take advantage of proper training and other things that they will need to help them succeed. It is not just about the men, but also the women.
These days we have women’s league all around the world and I would be very happy if the Ghana Football Association would think of coming up with a women’s league as it is done in other places because that would be a rich resource for human capacity development that can feed into our Black Queens. So, on this note I would like to thank the maker of the Statement once again and wish our Black Queens, coach and the whole team a success and that we are solidly behind them. We pray and hope that something better will come out of this.
Thank you very much Mr Speaker for the opportunity.
Hon Rachel Amma Owusuah
Dormaa East
Thank you Mr Speaker for giving me the opportunity. I would want to commend Hon Patricia Appiagyei, my mentor, for making such a beautiful Statement.
Mr Speaker, though a Bill has been passed for equity and equality, the anatomy and physiology of women make it a bit difficult to achieve our aim as women in sports. Congratulations to the able ladies for forming the team. Therefore, I will encourage the Black Queens on their efforts and their devotion. I wish them good luck, so that they come home with victory to make the nation proud.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
Effutu
Mr Speaker, let me thank Hon Patricia Appiagyei for bringing to the fore this important Statement.
Mr Speaker, women need support, be it in academia, in the area of sports or governance. They need to be supported, recognised and offered equal opportunity. It is through offering them such equal opportunities that we can evaluate their capacity to do the work and then know what talent they have.
Mr Speaker, looking at our Constitution, for instance, Article 78, and I would want your leave to read and do so aloud. Article 78 (1) says: “Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament.
So, Mr Speaker, I am, adding my voice to the earlier submission by my respected Colleague who is also the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. In her earlier submissions, she underscored the fact that women are required in critical areas and not just to add to the numbers.
Mr Speaker, I find this extremely curious and rich. This Statement, without misconstruing its effects, is suggesting that, for instance, this constitutional provision that requires majority of Ministers to be appointed from Parliament does not matter. When I raised the point earlier that there are fewer women in this Government, especially when it came to the ministerial appointment, we have her, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts and the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry out of the lot, when the Constitution says majority of Ministers must come from Parliament.
Mr Speaker, at the Cabinet level, there are so many Ministers that were appointed but there are just these four out of 40. It is of great concern and does not show a government that is committed to gender equity. It is not as if the talent is not there and that the women are not available; they are. Let me move from the Cabinet level or the mainstream ministerial appointment and come to even the Deputies. How many Deputies made it? Only a handful. A lot of them are here, and looking at their credentials, the minimum we would find is a second degree for quite a lot of them.
So, Mr Speaker, it is of grave concern, and I am sure if the Hon Member who is also the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection had paid due regard to my submissions, she would not have said the Government is not interested in adding to the numbers.
Mr Speaker, if looking at even the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executive (MMDCE) appointment, we have 260 that have been appointed, only 28 are women. Well, rebut me. How many then? Mr Speaker, again, look at the enactment on gender equity, Act 1121, it makes clear what is expected of government. It is a different agreement if the women are not available in this Chamber. The Constitution talks about majority coming from Parliament, we have an enactment that is calling on government to at least look at 30 per cent. Can we say that we have met this 30 per cent threshold required of us by the law; a law passed by the people’s representatives and we cannot talk about it? We should talk about it. If I look at the credentials of the 40 women Members of Parliament on the Majority Side, all of them have the essential credentials to make it to that very top. What is happening?
So, Mr Speaker, we cannot do wishy-washy on this matter. We did not find them in the key ministerial appointments. Even the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) appointment and the board, we are not finding the women. If they could not make it for them — Mr Speaker, but you heard the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection talk about the appointments. I am just adding up the points. Very well. Mr Speaker, I speak genuinely.
So, Mr Speaker, all I want to put across is that whilst the maker of the Statement is inviting this House to acknowledge the contribution of women and that women must be supported, we should not limit it only to the area of sports. We should see such recognition of women and what they can do in government as well. We should pay attention to other areas. That is the point I want to underscore; that is the burden of my call, that in this very House, we have enacted a law that allows us to create equal opportunity. In fact, the principle of equal opportunity is even a constitutional bona fide. So, we do not even need an enactment. So, we ask ourselves, to what extent have we respected this? We have 40 women sitting to the right of the Speaker on the NDC Side and when appointments are made, they have all been ignored; only a handful have been appointed. How can we have the Hon Member for Essikadu-Ketan, a professor in this House and she has not been seen? It is not possible.
Mr Speaker, I would want to encourage all stakeholders who support gender equity to rise to the occasion and support our women. I am told they will play against Morocco on Friday. They need all our support. Members of Parliament must be the lead cheerleaders in this matter, and I am sure through such encouragement, they would also do their best for their country. To the Black Queens, I say I wish them well. They may not have the needed resources, but they should be inspired by their sense of patriotism and make Ghana proud.
Mr Speaker, I shall rest my case without saying more, having made sufficient points on this important matter. I pray that Government would have a second look at the Constitution and the enactment, and do the needful. Mr Speaker, I do not know why the Majority Leader is so anxious to respond to me this Chamber. Mr Speaker, he has the women who are capable. He has many women who can respond to me. Hon Doyoe is here. The last time I raised an important matter, Hon Doyoe was at hand to address the issues. Why is the Majority Leader so anxious on this occasion? Mr Speaker, it is his right; if he wants to respond, so be it. But I know I have raised fundamental points.
Mr Speaker, I thank you.
Hon Ayariga Mahama
Bawku Central
Thank you very much. As for my Brother, the Minority Leader, he has suddenly become a major gender advocate, but when he was made Leader, his Side had 20 women.
Today, he has only 10 women. He could not defend even the 20 women that were given to him as Leader. He lost half of them. Today, he has only 10 women and he is the one who is pontificating about gender and women being protected and appointed when he could not even defend the 20 that were given to him. As a Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business with his Government in power, he had all the resources and he could not defend the women. He lost half of the women. Today, he is here telling us about the need to defend women and to ensure the women are protected in office and appointed to offices. My late President said, Dzi wo fie asεm. He should fix the problem in his house and protect the women in his house before he comes to do advocacy for the women on this Side.
Mr Speaker, on that note, let me also join them to encourage our women. I was the Minister for Sports at one point and I know that the struggle for women to be given fair treatment so that they can realise their full potential in the area of football has been a long-drawn one, but they are making a lot of progress.
I recall that the year we were participating in the World Cup in Canada, I flew into the United States of America (U.S.A) and connected to Canada, drove straight to the airport just to be there for our women national team for the opening match. And immediately the match ended, I drove back to the airport, took a flight and came back to Ghana. So, I was in Canada for barely four hours just to support our women because they were complaining that when they are playing, we do not show support. I think over the years, they have enjoyed quite some support. I also think that there have been some reforms in terms of the bonuses to bring them to a reasonable level. What is needed is for us to continue to encourage and support them.
I am part of a team that is working very closely with the Minister for Sports and Recreation to engage in some fundraising to support football. I believe that when we are able to raise the kind of financing that we are looking at, we will be able to give the national teams the support that they need. Two weeks ago, when Cabinet met, Cabinet approved that the Minister for Sports and Recreation should work hard to raise funds and establish a sports fund that will be able to support football and also our women in football.
Now I just want to address a few issues that the Minority Leader raised. I do not have the exact figures, but I know that the number that he mentioned in relation to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) is not accurate. They are definitely more than that. We will check the figures and communicate to this House. But I think on the issue of appointments and the percentages, anybody who understands our constitutional architecture knows that one may try very hard, but the base that one is given as a President to work with will definitely be a determinant of how far one can go.
For instance, when the President says that he must have 30 per cent Ministers, if he is drawing his Ministers largely from his Parliamentary team and the constituencies do not elect the number of women that he requires into the Parliamentary team, it becomes a constraint. It becomes a constraint to be able to meet that requirement. So, we will continue to work hard. Let us focus on the political parties. Political parties should try and make sure that in seats that they consider safe, they structure their constitutions in such a way that they are able to guarantee that they will get women to contest.
I will not describe Bawku Central as a safe seat. We know that it is a seat that has moved from NDC to NPP. So, they must go to Ashanti Region where the NPP has very safe seats or to the Volta region where NDC has very safe seats. In those areas, for instance, Winneba which is a safe seat of the NPP, we can guarantee that a woman should be the candidate of the NPP. And she will win and come here. If they put a female as the candidate for Effutu, she will definitely win—And that will shore up the number of women on their Side. So, I think that if the political parties take decision at the national executive committee level on the use of women candidates in safe and guaranteed seats, we will have a lot more women.
But in the very competitive constituencies, when they force a candidate on them and they rebel and they go and vote for independent or vote for a candidate of the opposing party, the party will be in trouble. So, I believe that the levers are actually in the hands of our political parties; it is at that level that they can create the base that will enable a president to have a large pool out of which to make the kind of appointments that he will need to meet the targets. But why 30 per cent? Because the women are actually statistically more than the men. If one looks at the population of this country there are more women than men. So, if there are more women than men, where is the 30 per cent coming from?
On what basis are we saying that there must be a mandatory 30 per cent for a number that is more than 50 per cent when we look at the population of the country? I think we should begin to advocate for women to also be conscious of the need to support their fellow women when they contest. When women contest, they should support them and the women should have the courage to contest. If women have the courage to contest, women should vote for them. That is why, next time, a woman should contest the Minority Leader in the primaries—
I do not think that 30 per cent is adequate. The 30 per cent is inequitable in a situation where the women are more than 50 per cent. So, Parliament even got it wrong. That is my position on the matter and I look forward to the day when we will enter this Chamber and there will be more women than men because that will actually represent the population of this country. And I know that when women are in this Chamber, they even do better representing the interests of men—They will not finish the men—
Mr Speaker, I do not think there is a basis for being afraid. I do not think that when women populate this Chamber, the men should be worried. They probably would do better managing our economy, security, and social welfare system. Because at home, they do better managing those affairs—If they do better at home managing those affairs, I am guaranteed that they will do better managing their affairs in this Chamber—And that is why we should have more women. This is why the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as a political party, insisted on having a woman as the Vice President for the first time in the history of this country.
Mr Speaker, I challenge the NPP that, in the next election—I dare them to also put up a woman as a vice-presidential candidate and I know that Ms Appiagye is a strong candidate from the Ashanti Region, starting as a Mayor, a Member of Parliament, a Deputy Minister and, now, a Deputy Leader. She clearly fits to be a running mate—From the strongest political base of the NPP, she has guaranteed NPP their base. I challenge the NPP that, in the next election, we want to see a woman as their running mate. As for us in the NDC, we can only go forward. Backward, never. Forward, ever.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
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